Media: Parents of Russian who was taken prisoner by militants in Syria informed of his death

Monday, December 18, 2017 8:00:49 AM

The parents of Grigory Tsurkanu, who was allegedly taken prisoner by ISIS militants, told about the visit of members of the Wagner private army.

According to Valentina Tsurkanu, the mother, an unknown man came to her on December 4 and told her that her son died from injuries, and the second prisoner, Roman Zabolotny, was killed by militants. The woman said that this person called himself a representative of the “organization,” as reported by the Dozhd TV channel. That’s what the soldiers of the Wagner private army call themselves, Tsurkanu's parents say.

The man also offered compensation to the family of the Russian soldier, which they refused.

Previously, Tsurkanu’s parents sent an inquiry to the Russian Defense Ministry asking them to find out what happened to their son, but they still have not received a reply.

A video recording of the Russian soldiers, claiming that they were captured in the Syrian province of Deir ez-Zor, appeared on the Internet in early October. One of them was identified as Roman Zabolotny, a Cossack from the Rostov region, and the second, as Grigory Tsurkanu, a member of the public veteran organization “Combat Brotherhood” from the Domodedovo region near Moscow.